The Monitor/Carla Gray
Doug Compton plays “Amazing Grace” on the bagpipes before volunteers lay wreaths on graves during the Wreaths Across America event Dec. 13. The seven wreaths behind Compton represent the six branches of our country’s military plus one for POWs and those missing in action.

The Monitor/Carla Gray
Mabank Mayor Randy Teague lays a wreath Dec. 13 on the headstone of Roy V. Benedict in honor of the service Benedict gave in the U.S. Army.

The Monitor/Carla Gray
Sarah Maples Regent Angela Webb speaks Dec. 13 at Wreaths Across America. Webb said, “We are here to honor our heros with a simple but powerful act.”

The Monitor/Carla Gray
Simon Foster with Trail Life Service Organization in Kemp places a wreath on the headstone of a military service member, thanking that person for their service to our country.

MABANK-On Dec. 13 The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Sarah Maples Chapter sponsored Wreaths Across America in Mabank. DAR  worked with Eubank Funeral Home who arranged to have the wreaths delivered and graves marked. This partnership has gone on every year for the past seven years.
Location and Sponsorship Coordinator for Sarah Maples Chapter Susan Martz-Cothran is the organizer for Wreaths Across America in Mabank. Cothran began the morning with special thanks and recognition to those who donated and volunteered. She gave a special shout out to Eubank Funeral Home Tom Lloyd for helping with the wreaths.
Cothran explained to volunteers how to place the wreaths on each marked grave. Shake wreaths to give it the fullness, wreaths were not to cover names, and  bows facing up opposite of name, Cothran instructed. Cothran said, “We are not here to decorate graves but we are here to remember their lives.” Cothran addressed the young volunteers, saying, “The freedoms you have come at a cost.” She asked each one laying a wreath to have a conversation with that person, thanking them for giving their service.
Before the wreaths were placed, seven larger wreaths stood in front of the crowd to represent the six branches of our country’s military plus one for POWs and those missing in action. Doug Compton played “Amazing Grace” on the bagpipes as a somber silence fell across the cemetery.
Volunteers placed 169 wreaths at Eubank Cedar Creek Memorial Park and another 434 wreaths at Oak Lawn Cemetery. 
If you would like to donate or volunteer for next year’s Wreaths Across America go to https://www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/TX0818 or susanmartzcothran@yahoo.com.